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volcanologist.bsky.social
Dr Rebecca Williams
@volcanologist.bsky.social
3.5K followers 890 following 900 posts
Reader in Volcanology in Geology @Hull. Waffle about volcanoes, HigherEd, tea and occasional running. SFHEA & STEM ambassador. She/her.
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volcanologist.bsky.social
Dr Rebecca Williams @volcanologist.bsky.social · Aug 2
It's about time I announced a project that I've been working on in the last year... I wrote a book!

'Volcanoes: 10 things you should know' published by @orionbooks.bsky.social Seven Dials will be out in September. It's available to pre-order now. Links: linktr.ee/volcanologist
A graphic of a book. The cover is a deep red and had a good line illustration of an erupting volcano.
volcanologist.bsky.social
Yes, makes me want to go big with my own at home 😁
January 24, 2026 at 3:22 PM
volcanologist.bsky.social
Had a lovely day in York tracing footsteps of Tempest Anderson, ophthalmic surgeon and adventuring volcanologist. Hunting for volcanic rocks in the city with @fossiliam.bsky.social
Photograph of a plaque on a wall which reads T.Anderson MD
January 24, 2026 at 12:46 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
ritualpurposes.bsky.social
Calling all UK archaeologists! I am conducting some reasearch on Stratigraphic literacy in the industry. If you work/have worked in archaeology in the UK I would really apprechiate if would fill in this survey!

forms.gle/5jZKpcf78gZt...
Stratigraphic Literacy in UK Archaeology -
This survey, along with a previous one circulated in September 2025 will form the basis for a study of stratigraphic literacy in UK Archaeology, to hopefully be published in an academic journal such a...
forms.gle
January 24, 2026 at 9:52 AM
volcanologist.bsky.social
Awesome! Look forward to the thread
January 24, 2026 at 12:12 PM
volcanologist.bsky.social
Good. Keep resisting.
January 20, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
tomsharperocks.bsky.social
20 January 1814: newspapers report that entrepreneur William Bullock was sending a natural history exhibition to Edinburgh. Amongst the specimens is 'the fossil head of a crocodile, lately found in Dorsetshire', the ichthyosaur found by #MaryAnning & her brother, on perhaps its first public display.
Top left, portrait of Mary Anning in a green cloak. and straw bonnet; top right, the 'crocodile' (ichthyosaur) skull found by Mary Anning and her brother in 1811-12; bottom left, portrait of William Bullock, a middle-aged man with a bald head; bottom right, extract from an 1814 newspaper, 'The collection now on its way to Edinburgh is composed principally of duplicate specimens, prepared on purpose, and are equally magnificent, if not in some respects superior, to those which remain stationary in London; among other things, he is bringing the fossil head of a crocodile, lately found in Dorsetshire - it measures five feet in length - and Mr Bullock is possessed of 25 feet of the body. The late publication of Cuvier, which throws so much light upon that interesting department of natural history, must render the inspection of this invaluable relic of a former world particularly desirable 10 the amateurs of the North, where nothing of the kind has hitherto been discovered.'
January 20, 2026 at 6:52 AM
volcanologist.bsky.social
I'd be absolutely stoked to find out that a library was stocking my book. And that people were actually checking it out. 📖🤓
dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 14d
Someone said to me, "I'm sorry but I got your book from a library." Nobody should ever apologise for that. You read my book! That's brilliant! I grew up hanging out in libraries and the idea of a world without them fills me with dread. Without libraries, authors, like readers, will only suffer.
January 20, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
robknell.bsky.social
Job alert! We're recruiting for a #lecturer in marine conservation to direct our new #Marine #Conservation MSc and have the ?pleasure of working with me 'cos I run the Wildlife Conservation MSc. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DQF022/l... 🧪 We're friendly and you can still buy a house on an academic salary here!
www.jobs.ac.uk
January 20, 2026 at 10:52 AM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
nationaltrust.org.uk
Did anyone see the Northern Lights last night?

These incredible shots were taken at Dudmaston ✨
An incredible pink and purple sky dotted with stars and a bigger, brighter moon. The silhouette of a tree can be seen on the right-hand side The silhouettes of trees below a bright pink and green night sky
January 20, 2026 at 11:05 AM
volcanologist.bsky.social
It's teaching students to outsource thinking. Thinking is what we're supposed to teach them how to do. So if we no longer do that, what's the point? Expertise in a subject is developed through thought - why go to university if you don't want to think? It's the death of expertise.
January 19, 2026 at 9:36 AM
volcanologist.bsky.social
Yes, in many ways Teide is but a small pimple at the top of a huge volcanic system. The eruptions that formed the caldera are far larger than the eruptions that formed Teide.
January 16, 2026 at 8:54 AM
volcanologist.bsky.social
Oh the pumice plains! That is a deposit of pumice from an eruption where a cloud spread out and rained pumice down on the nearby areas. I think this particular place is related to the Montana Blanca eruption.
January 14, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
bmatb.expmicromech.com
Many fellows of the @royalsociety.org (FRS) are incredibly good scientists with a wide reach.

Yet, as the society, & the president of the society, react and engage in public discussions of at least one fellow and their conduct, the "brand" and relevance of the society continues to be at risk.

1/
January 12, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
But there's more

As I wrote at the time, NESO said net-zero "Holistic Transition" was the "cheapest option", once you take account of the economic damages from CO2 adding to climate change

It said a fossil energy system is only “cheaper” if we “ignore” carbon costs

www.carbonbrief.org/...
9/10
January 12, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
drsimevans.carbonbrief.org
The utterly shameless & widely covered "report" out today, claiming net zero will "cost" £9tn is based on:

* Assuming free fossil-fuel energy, free petrol cars, free gas boilers, free gas power plants etc

AND

* Including climate damages in the "cost" of net zero

I kid you not, it is that stupid
drsimevans.carbonbrief.org Simon Evans @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 22d
🧵A political/media guide to the "truth" about net-zero

1) Add up costs to install & run a net-zero energy system
2) Pretend fossil-fuelled alternatives wld be free
3) Do say "eco zealots are bankrupting us"
4) Don't say "free cars if we scrap net-zero" cos it sounds ridiculous
5) That's it!

1/10
January 13, 2026 at 7:37 AM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
profrachelgan.bsky.social
Following coverage over the weekend of Sir Paul Nurse's comments that suggested that the only reason that a Fellow should be expelled from @royalsociety.org is scientific misconduct, I have written to him to explain the risks such an attitude poses of increasing sexual harassment in STEM.
Dear Sir Paul, Re: Royal Society Code of Conduct I am sure that many scientists have written to you about the specific question of Elon Musk’s Fellowship and whether, under the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct, his retaining that Fellowship is appropriate. I will not rehash these issues. Instead, as a female scientist with extensive experience of activities aiming to increase equality, diversity and inclusion in the engineering and physical sciences sector, I am writing to you (in a personal capacity) to ask you to reconsider the statements you have recently made in this context to the UK press about the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct and how it is applied. A 2018 report from the joint National Academies of the United States of America, concluded that “sexual harassment is common in academic science, engineering, and medicine” and that “greater than 50 percent of women faculty and staff and 20–50 percent of women students encounter or experience sexually harassing conduct in academia”. This report described codes of conduct that make clear that sexual harassment is unethical and will not be tolerated as a “powerful incentive for change”. The authors also noted that sexual harassment can have significant and damaging effects on the integrity of research. In my own praxis, I have found that clear and consistently-implemented codes of conduct that address these issues make female scientists and engineers safer, and allow them to focus more effectively on their research. For codes of conduct to have such a positive effect, it is vital that sanctions for actions which transgress the code are meaningful and substantial. I was hence aghast to realise that in an interview with the Financial Times published on 9/1/26, you appear to have suggested that the Royal Society “should only expel fellows if their science proved “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective””. Moreover, in a further interview with the Guardian on 11/1/26 you suggested that the code “may need to be looked at again”, with the implication that your aim would be to remove the option of sanctions on Fellows for reasons not strictly related to faults or defects in their research. I suggest that changing the Royal Society’s code of conduct so that the likelihood of serious sanctions for sexual harassment is reduced, would directly endanger women who interact with the Royal Society at events or otherwise, and would provide a licence to harass to the already powerful people on whom the Society bestows fellowship. The implications of your words - that under your leadership the only infringements of the code which are likely to receive the sanction of the Fellowship being removed are those related to research misconduct - already risk empowering harassers. You stated, in the Financial Times interview, that “there’s many bad people around, but they have made scientific advances”. Given this awareness of the possibility of bad actors in our scientific community, it is wholly irresponsible to suggest that the Royal Society would not act to sanction these people if they harass more vulnerable scientists. I am hence writing to request that you retract any suggestion that the Society’s Code of Conduct should be changed so that the only reason a Fellow might be sanctioned by the removal of their Fellowship is “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective” research. This action is necessary to safeguard female scientists, a requirement placed on the Society by safeguarding legislation and UK statutory guidance. Yours sincerely, Professor Rachel A. Oliver.
January 12, 2026 at 8:59 AM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
jekely.biologists.social.ap.brid.gy
If you are interested in electron microscopy, registration is still open for the

"Electron Microscopy Hands-On Course: sample preparation and imaging of marine environmental samples"

at Stazione Zoologica in Naples.

WIth great teachers from Naples […]

[Original post on biologists.social]
Poster of the EM course in Naples with marine samples. The Electron Microscopy Hands-On Course: sample preparation and imaging of marine environmental samples arises from a very strong and active collaboration between the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn and the EMBL in Heidelberg. The aim of the course is to provide a theoretical and practical training on electron microscopy starting from the basics to the preparation of samples with high pressure freezing and image acquisition using TEM and SEM.
January 13, 2026 at 7:08 AM
volcanologist.bsky.social
Good luck! Have an amazing time!
January 10, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
eruptions.site
Nice bubbling over at Kīlauea right now. Bigger stuff may follow: www.youtube.com/live/gXKuUyK...
[V3cam] Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii (south Halemaʻumaʻu crater)
YouTube video by USGS
www.youtube.com
January 10, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
hebagowayed.bsky.social
PSA: twitter, X, is doing new terms of service that basically make it so that any comtent you share on there including DMs and photos is theirs and they can use it for "any purpose" including commercial use.

So, if you have a page you’ve left up and don’t want them there’s time to act 1/
January 7, 2026 at 12:15 AM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
whoi.edu
Did you know most of the volcanic activity on Earth takes place under the waves? 🌋

Submarine volcanoes act as pressure valves for the planet by periodically releasing heat and molten rock from beneath the surface.

📲 Learn more from our Ocean Learning Hub: go.whoi.edu/Uw_Volcano
January 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
chrischirp.bsky.social
very disappointing.

There is a code of conduct for Royal Society fellows - it's not a value judgement to say that Musk has contravened it!

see relevant bits of code and the Royal Society stated values below.
January 9, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
profrachelgan.bsky.social
What would a fellow have to do, to be in contravention of the @royalsociety.org Code of Conduct if Musk's behaviour *doesn't* constitute "acting in a personal or professional capacity in such a manner as is likely to bring the
Society into disrepute"?
royalsociety.org/-/media/abou...
January 9, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
isobelyeo.bsky.social
An excellent final @vmsg.bsky.social Annual Meeting Workshop today led by @volcanologist.bsky.social @pyroclasticpete.bsky.social @drnatashadowey.bsky.social on pyroclastic stratigraphies. I learned a lot and there were some great conversations. Thanks to all involved!
People sit at desks in a meeting room watching a presentation. There are large posters showing cliff sections through PDC deposits on the wall.
January 8, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Reposted by Dr Rebecca Williams
volcanologist.bsky.social
The one and only meme I've ever created. Also my most successful research output ever 🤣
The popular meme 'pink feather man' in a car. In front of the plainly dressed man on the right text reads "Rest of Geology". In front of the extravagantly dressed man with huge pink feathers on the left, the text reads "Volcanology".
November 4, 2024 at 12:36 PM